


Battle

by Bloody_Destination



Series: Dark Ace Series of Connected Drabbles [6]
Category: Storm Hawks (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, More Angsty then I pictured, Original Storm Hawks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:57:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloody_Destination/pseuds/Bloody_Destination
Summary: Ace's first battle as a Storm Hawk.





	Battle

Ace experiences his first battle just a month since rejoining the Condor after nine month away at school. He’s grown possibly an inch since then and that’s it. He still short and a stick, Joshi says, but had affectionately rubbed at his hair as they’d welcomed him back on board.

It was only a few days prior to that battle that Lightning injured himself, and Wing was still hurt from the countless times he’d crashed his skimmer and fallen down the steps on the Condor. They needed an extra hand, especially when Lightning only had one at the moment, the other in a splint and wrapped tightly around his midsection.

Ace took to the co-pilots seat at the hesitation of every one of the Storm Hawks, but they didn’t really have a choice. It was a familiar feeling, flying with Lightning again, but so much different. Ace was frozen when they first made contact with the Talons. Everything was moving so fast, nothing made sense and something that Ace hasn’t felt in years rears its awful head at the worst time. _Fear._

Ace is scared and it takes him a moment to realize that Lightning is yelling at him, but he can barely hear anything over the piercing ringing in his ears and all he feels is sick to his stomach. Suddenly, the skimmer twists in the air and Ace’s back is pressing hard against the back of the side car as they shoot straight up in the air and the stark blasts of red and blue and green energy blasts and crystal blades are gone from his vision. Instead, clear blue sky and breezy clouds his only view.

“Ace.” Cuts through the buzzing and background noise of the battle, “I need you right now.” Lightning is reaching over, a hand skimming through black hair, turning his head to look at moss green eyes, “You can do this, Ace. I believe in you, okay. So, don’t freeze on me. I only have one hand so I need you to be my arms, okay?”

He can’t trust his voice, but he nods and then the hand is retracted, followed by the skimmer flipping back around and the sight of a few dozen Talons fighting against Emala on her Heliscooter and Mick on his skimmer and a dozen rapid fire energy blasts from the Condor come into view. He swallows back his fear.

“Ace, give me some fire power. I’ll get us in position. Just like we practiced. Okay, Ace?”

“Y-Yeah.” He forced out, choking on his dry throat.

The controls shake in his hands, but he doesn’t have time to think past his own fear when the Talon’s are directly in site and Ace reflexively hits the release and Crystal powered torpedoes fly at the enemy skimmers. The way Lightning flies, even with one hand, is incredible and it gives Ace no time to think past the enemies in front of them and the controls in his hand. And all too soon, the Cyclonians are retreating and a slightly smoking skimmer is pulling into the hanger of the Condor.

“I knew it was too soon for this. We should of thought of something else that didn’t involve Ace getting put on the battle field so soon.” Emala is saying as she rushes from her ride and directly in front of Ace. She has to gently pull him from the side car. He’s shaking too much to do it himself.

“I’m okay.” He says, and he really is, but he’s too high on adrenaline and fear at the moment to tell his body that.

But no one listens to him as Lightning pulls himself up, “I know, Emala, but we didn’t have a choice on such short notice.”

Mick is the only one who actually claps his on the back, “Ya did good, kid. Proud of you.”

Emala cuts him off, “But don’t expect it to happen so soon again. You got that. This was an emergency.” Then her expression softens as she ruffles his hair, “But you did do good. Not a single miss, I noticed. Better aim then our resident sharpshooter who never seems to actually be in battle.”

It’s two weeks later that he’s back in the co-pilot seat, because Lightning’s insistence that _he was fine_ caused him to re-injure that same arm. Mick has gone on shore leave to visit his family during an important celebration native to his home Terra. It was only a day trip, but only an hour after he left they receive a distress call. Too late to call Mick back, and so they had no choice but to put him back into battle.

Ace didn’t freeze, this time, but the shaking after the battle persisted and Lightning swore after that that he wouldn’t be placed on the battle field again, no matter what. They all pretended it wasn’t a lie, as they moved towards the med bay to take care of injuries.

That night, Ace wakes up in a cold sweat, picturing his mother’s face instead of a Talon’s visor he’s shooting down and the words of those Talon’s from so long ago.

_“Could put him to good use in the mines or maybe even a Talon when he’s older.”_

All he can think of is if his mother didn’t die, if his mother didn’t escape during that attack. If instead she was captured and did to her what they planned on for himself. He’d prefer he never finds out. He doesn’t sleep for the rest of the night, or for many nights after that.

Ace misses the first week of school after several battles in a row causes the Condor to be delayed. Of that week-long battle, Ace is a constant sight in the co-pilots chair. There is hesitation in Lightning’s eyes as he finally comm’s Mimi and tells her they are finally on their way back.


End file.
